How the Samsung Galaxy S3 finally helped me fall in love with Android

I am not the fastest person in the world to embrace change. As the iPhone changed the world, I clung desperately to my BlackBerry for several years. Before that, when the iPod was revolutionizing music, I still proudly lugged around a portable CD player.

Not being an early adopter has always been a point of pride. Camping out for a gadget? Don’t be ridiculous.

So, having finally switched to an iPhone 3GS a couple of years ago, I pretty much tuned out anything with an Android operating system. Yes, I could see that it was selling far faster than the iPhone. But again, I stuck with my iPhone. And that became a gateway for me becoming a deeper Apple users: a Macbook, Apple TV, and iPad. We became an Apple household because all these things worked so famously well together.

Why would I change?

Even as I watched other friends adopt Android phones, I’d play with them, but hand them back certain that mine was the superior device. Indeed, when the folks at T-Mobile loaned me a Samsung Galaxy S III a couple of months ago, I was curious to try it. But I was also resistant. At first.

Let me state upfront: Yes, I have the iPhone 3GS. It wasn’t until I really started playing with the Galaxy that my old iPhone felt too old and clunky. But now it does. I’m getting an iPhone 5 in a couple of weeks, and no doubt that will be a fairer comparison.

Still, let me just note the big difference here. The Galaxy I have is running on T-Mobile’s 4G LTE network. And my god: What a difference! Watching a video, downloading just about anything, is lightning quick. And the network has proven to be reliable and far more available than I expected. Living in the Bay Area, the AT&T coverage is still mediocre. I live in North Oakland where it’s hard to make calls on the AT&T network.

So, I’ve taken to using the Samsung for calls at home. Kudos to T-Mobile for that.

But beyond that, the bigger screen really does transform the viewing and reading experience. And it’s far lighter than my iPhone, making if feel less cumbersome.

But what about Android and the onscreen experience? It took a little adjustment to figure out how to find and download apps, sure. But after a couple of weeks, it seemed no more challenging than downloading an app on the iPhone.

Beyond that, graphically this version of Android and the way Samsung has implemented seems far more, well, delightful than Apple’s iOS, which feels a bit dated. Yes, I’ve updated to iOS6 on the iPhone. Doesn’t matter. The way the Galaxy’s graphics swirl around when I first turn it on, and the way the apps appear is just wonderful.

Not surprisingly, the camera is a big revelation as well. I expect the iPhone 5 will close that gap for me. But at the moment, the Galaxy has become my default camera, with its 8-megapixels and its gorgeous 1080p HD video. I had gone back to toting around a second camera because my iPhone photos were so disappointing. Now I can ditch that and just use the Galaxy.

Now, in the scheme of life, both phones are very nice. But the other larger issue that the Galaxy drove home for me has to do with Apple. Android fans and Apple critics have been saying this for awhile now, but I have to echo it: Apple seems to be falling behind the innovation curve here. It really is playing catch-up on many of these features.

In the short term, that may not matter. Witness the millions of iPhone 5 units it’s selling. Still, at some point, this has to begin to reflect on Apple’s reputation for being a tech leader and not a follower. Yes, I understand that there are some legal questions regarding patents and who copied who.

But in the minds of consumer, it seems at some point Apple will risk losing some of that enthusiasm if it can’t find a way to leapfrog the competition.

Apple hasn’t lost me. Yet. But Samsung has made me more willing to look at my options.

Android apps are not half as good as iOS apps – in terms of quality and diversity. There are several cute little games on iOS that I discover daily which I don’t even find on Google Play. So it’s all about preferences. If you prefer the best quality and selection of apps, iOS is the best choice even now.

That’s a valid point; iOS has a better app store. But I overall Android is coming on strong. They have made fantastic strides in giving Android developers tools to create really great apps – check out the “Android Design Guidelines”. And in terms of hardware, it’s hard to beat Android’s diversity.

Obviously everyone has preferences, but it seems that the diversity that Android is able to offer has lead them to an increase in market share (and winning over users, as in the case of this article).

pfft

110% opinionated. Plus alot of people can care less about games.

White-o

Any review is opinionated. That’s what a review is, its a person sharing their experience and opinions with the readers.
He never once said Android was any better than iOS, simply that Android is better than he had expected.
Its all good in the hood my man ;P

Dylan

“Android apps are not half as good as iOS apps – in terms of quality and diversity.”
LOL what? Obviously the sound of a biased user. You do realize that whatever app iOS has, we have as well, among about 20+ other choices slightly different than the exact same product? And usually ours are free 😉 You keep thinking that just because you are spending money on apps while all of Android’s are free that it’s better quality. Diversity is one thing iOS does not have. I’ll tell you what iOS apps do have, is that nearly ALL apps are paid and not free. Ouch.
“There are several cute little games on iOS that I discover daily which I don’t even find on Google Play”
Guaranteed it’s on Play as well, but you are just too Apple-brainwashed to notice. Name the game. I bet you there’s the same and about 20 competitor’s that are also free.
“So it’s all about preferences.”
Also statistics..

Dennis

Name one, just ONE Android app for video that allows you to slow down the video, slo mo recording? Or a video app that allows splicing. dubbing. Or one that transforms your video into a vintage video from the 20s, 50 or even 70s….Android apps are by most part, junk,. Even Android users say this.

I use it to search and locate addresses quickly on my phone and send the address to the Garmin. I prefer the Garmin to Google Navigation. the app does a heck of a lot more more, but that’s why I use it. As far as I know, it doesn’t exist for the iPhone.

Applers, you paid $100 more for a smaller screen, almost no free apps, lack of google maps (fail new map), buggy wifi, no nfc, less performance, no widgets, no additional/removable storage, sealed battery, fbi tracked (google it), years behind technology, lack of Flash on websites, no back button, no swype, no chrome, no usb support, limited email attachment choices, no file manager, no haptic keypress (vibration when pressing a key/texting), no alternate keyboards (other languages or better keyboard sets), no wireless charging capabilities, when you could have got a Samsung ;D

*it was actually a 0.5″ bigger than all previous iPhone models… but point taken
*there actually are plenty of free apps, just not quite as many as android. that being said, when was the last time there was a trojan break-out for iOS?
*we still have access to google maps, Apple simply removed their apple-made app of a shell for it on iPhone 5 and iOS 6… we can still use the web-based version
*the wifi issues are not affecting everyone, myself included
*NFC- payment terminals are still pretty slow to adopting NFC readers. I had google wallet on my Nexus S- it was cool it was fun, but it’s not been adopted very well
*Increased performance on the 5, for sure
*Widgets are kind of an android thing. they’re alright, but not necessary, and certainly not on any apple-fan’s wishlist for an iPhone
*additional/removeable storage is going to be fairly obsolete with so many services becoming cloud-based
*iPhone’s have always had sealed batteries. creates a more sturdy design for the phone, sleeker looking design, and, with the introduction of iPhone 5, Apple continues to maintain the highest battery life compared to all competitors.
*all phones are FBI tracked that have any form of GPS technology or the ability to be triangulated by cell phone towers….
*years behind technology… as in Apple is behind? last time I checked Apple is still a world leader and innovator… not having NFC does not mean iPhone is behind. with the most advanced 4G LTE antenna technology so far, I’d say Apple continues to lead by example
*lack of flash = more secure
*we don’t need a back button, considering the operating system maintains simplicity with all navigation built-in, with the exception of the home button… even android is trying to do away with hard buttons for navigating the interface. this was a major point when releasing ice cream sandwich
*no swype- not necessary. I can type faster on Apple’s keyboard than any 3rd party keyboard
*Chrome- actually yes chrome is available on the App store…
*USB support? what do i need USB support for? I can even push music, videos, etc wirelessly from my computer to my iPhone using wireless sync.
*our email attachment abilities have been overcome with iOS 6- tap twice to access a quick menu, one of which allows you to go in and attach multiple items
*file manager= not necessary. iTunes can manage my devices if I have the desire to ‘manage’ it. otherwise, it’s pretty simply to download media, apps, remove apps, etc
*haptic feedback- not necessary. haptic feedback is necessary when attempting to hit the ‘back’ button on an android phone. there is no use for it on an iPhone
*quite the contrary- you can download alternative keyboards from the App store. Also, Apple has been a world leader for providing the most diverse options for other languages.
*wireless charging- okay, this is your second valid arguement.

all in all though, iPhones just WORK. The user interface is simple and easy to understand. It’s quick, it’s efficient, the battery lasts way longer than androids. we don’t have virus’s or trojans. I’ll take my chances with apple and continue to enjoy quality over quantity.

Danno

My Galaxy S III just WORKS as well. Even after it fell out my pocket and bounced twice on the pavement with no case, resulting in only a slight ding to the edge. That would’ve been game over for an iPhone. Quality over quantity….riggght. iPhone 5 is second fiddle to the S3 end of story.

Derek

You realize saying,”End of story,” is as ignorant as saying,”Fact!”

Lol…I’m guessing you’re 19.

Demian

“iPhone’s have always had sealed batteries. creates a more sturdy design for the phone, sleeker looking design, and, with the introduction of iPhone ”

By sturdy do you mean every 3rd iphone having a cracked screen is a by-design-feature?
Do not mention sturdiness in the same sentence as the iphone ever!

iKron

@Ricky
I’ve been using a variety Android Devices and OS versions for 4yrs now. I have NOT EVEN ONCE been hit with any virus, malware or exploits of any kind and I don’t know any one that has. So much for that lame statement. You on the other hand using iOS (especially AT&T) have a greater likelyhood of having your personal information (including your Unique device identifier) exposed online as well as given or sold to 3rd party’s who are only too happy to take advantage of you iDiots.

Far more developers are writing apps for Android now than iOS. That can be easily proved, since Google Play now has equal Apps available to it’s users as iOS. On top of that…. there are now over 200 App stores around the Globe selling or distributing for FREE Apps for Android. Side loading is always an Option you don’t have unless you Jail Break your iDevice.

Get this….. Widgets were standardized by the W3C well over a decade ago. They are used by Microsoft’s OS, Mac OS X and Linux along with most other mobile operating systems besides iOS!

And whether you know it or not…. .wgt’s will be the standard for HTML5 based applications. Which are now on the verge of running just as fast and clean as native applications across every platform out! ….now what was that about widgets only being for Linux….? lol…

But here’s the biggest drawback for iOS that’ll end up being the death of it; it’s legacy antiquated, primarily single threaded, non-mulitasking FILE SYSTEM. Which is still based on original Apple computers single threaded file system. Yes it got renamed to HFS, but it’s still based on the same file system that ran Apple IIc’s. Yes…. it was sort of upgraded to HFS+, but it’s still predominantly single threaded and has no pervasive multitasking ability except through a sub file system stacked on top of it. Meaning… you can only quit or start apps running within apps and if you shut one down the other is shut down too.

So now unless Apple does a ground up re-write of iOS and OS X, Apple’s devices are stuck back in time in 1985. Sure they’ve managed to use little tricks to pause one app while another is being used or run Music Radio while on line running an app, but shut that app down and the music quits with it. Samsung in particular has enabled full pervasive multitasking throughout the entire system. Android running on latest Exynos A15 chips have Hardware Virtualization available. Something iOS will never have!

Open Choice vs Closed Proprietary Garden Walled Single choices made for you. Android has already crossed the finish line with iOS not even out of the gate into the future!

david

Ive been using android for 3 years now and i have an s3. i just bought an ipad and all i can say is that my phone can do ALOT more than my tablet. i can easily put a pendrive on my phone and real all the project from my work, i can read microsd cards the user interface is alot more pleasant than those grid of boring static icons… the quality of apps for ios is still better but android has some apps that are if not as good alot close. also my s3 can hadle all video formats and my ipad framedrops in ALMOST EVERY SINGLE VIDEO i put on itunes. Its still the best tablet out there because there are alot of apps only for the tablet! but as a phone android kills it by far.

P.S ios6 = bugs and bugs…

iKron

The simple difference between iOS and Android now is that iOS has stagnated. It only relies on App developers and accessory makers giving iDevices more/better features. Android OS now has the SE Linux Secure Kernel available and it trumps iOS in a huge way for business and industrial use. It’s also mandated for approval of Google Self Driving cars. Which couldn’t be done with iOS ever!

Reasons are many, but it all goes back to iOS being developed for backwards compatibility with OSX and therefore original Mac OS. Basically in order to do that, iOS had to use Apple’s legacy file system first developed for single threaded operations on old Apple computer’s low grade chip. It was then modified and renamed to HFS for original Macs. But still retained it’s legacy backwards compatibility and single threaded operation.

Later it modified to HFS+ but still lacked pervasive multithreading of other modern file systems used on Windows, Linux and BeOS. In reality BeOS had the best file system basically designed around having the whole OS sitting on top of a Virtual Database. Then Apple’s NeXTStep devs wrote a virtual database file system similar to BFS on BeOS for iTunes. They had problems emplementing fast search because of the legacy HFS+ file systeam and so they hired Dominic Giampalo of BeOS fame to write a sub file system like BFS and Spotlight Search!

But…. that tired old legacy single threaded file system didn’t get retired like it should have. Scott when he started developing iOS knew there would be problems with Multitasking, widgets, etc in keeping HFS+ in iOS. Now since they have never really done a ground up rewrite of either OS X to give it Touchscreen framework in the kernel and all these other features Android has out of box, iOS’s future is in grave danger without true Multitasking and pervasive multithreading Android has to Drive a car and run many widgets and Apps while also taking care of other processes with linearity. Because Apple iOS’s file systems has to stack processes and run them sequentially!

This is exactally why comparing the two is impossible. iOS can’t do the things the far more powerful Android Linux can do. That’s why it only seems faster and smoother. If iOS could run animated backgrounds a page of active live widgets and multiple apps along with Android OS processes, most likely Android would destroy iOS!!! …. that’s the straight up scoop and that’s part of why you really can’t compare the two Smartphone Platforms!

Richard

are you, yourself, already touched an Android phone for at least a day or two?

Dennis

Speaking of $100. I have a question for you:
I bought my Iphone 5, white, 16 gig at Walmart for $189, yes $189 with 2 year renewal. Has ZERO issues. No scratches no WIFI issues.. Remember they sold MILLIONS of them…Not all were bad or flawed…
In 1 year exactly from this date, how much do you think I can sell it for? If its MINT still. I can tell you. A quick sale for $325. Every Iphone I have sold after 1 year of owning, I got $350! Look on Craigslist to see what the 4S is STILL selling for! DOH!
If I had picked up a Samsung Galaxy S3 for $199, tell me EXACTLY what you think I could get for it, 1 year from now.. You couldnt get a dollar for it.
FACT: Every week you own your Android device, it drops in value $10 or more per week.
ANDROID EQUALS BAD INVESTMENT AND ITS FOR THOSE BAD AT MATH!

Foo Bar

Are you nuts? Look on Ebay and Craigslist before spewing fantasy numbers. Yes iphones hold their value well but so do many Android phones.

My old Nexus 1 is still going for about $100 two years later. Your 3gs is about 2.5 years old and going for… $100.

Derek

Good luck selling the nexus 1 for 100.00. Talk about fantasy…

You realize what it’s listed for and what it sells for are two different things?

Of course you don’t.

pgrillone

you are absolutely RIGHT!
I always have the latest and greatest, and can vouch for the facet that Iphones sell for more than i need to buy the newest one.
The S3 if it follows the way of other androids will continue to lose value, Just look at the carrier price cuts on the S3 prior to the new Iphone’s arrival.

Ray

You are by far the biggest idiot in the world. The Samsung Galaxy S3 is $700 at Best Buy. You think it won’t be worth at least $400 by next year? Retard.

Dennis, you are an idiot. No one cares about investing on a lousy $350 you homeless feeble-minded fool. Some of us have bigger deals to worry about you bum.

debby downer

since when has a phone been an investment? it does appreciate in value.

Ray

How do you run your “cute little apps” on a 3.5″ screen?

Let’s say, if you place both fingers on the screen, while playing a cute little app which was downloaded from the App Store (iOS), 40% of your screen real estate will be covered by your finger tips. How exciting is a game, when you can’t see half the screen?

I have seen four iPhone 5 owners return their product for a Galaxy S3. That’s is enough for me to believe that the iPhone is failing.

I purchased a Samsung Galaxy SIII – Unlocked and saved over $300. They have amazing deals on cell phones and tablets!

Vijay

“The Galaxy I have is running on T-Mobile’s 4G LTE network” ??? You must have done more research.

Rainier Wolfcastle

I’ve owned both Android and now iPhone, and to me the two major differences are (a) an open ecosystem vs. a closed one, and (b) integration with my Macbook and iPad. Android wins (a) hands-down; I find Apple’s “walled garden” to be irritating at best and maddening most of the rest of the time.

But with iCloud, the iPhone wins (b) hands-down.

If Android can ever solve the integration-with-Mac issue — and “use Google calendar and other services instead” is, today, NOT a solution — I’ll switch back to Android in a heartbeat.

ontheotherside

Thats like saying I will switch to iPhone when IOS integrates the Google Apps.

In order for any new technology to become economically viable, millions of devices have to be sold. This takes a lot of press as well as creating a good product, and the media certainly help in this regard. Apart from the hardcore gadget press, the media in general doesn’t care about gadgets, and honing in on Apple is a good shortcut. Most writers don’t care about learning about other companies, which are mostly not domestic, which make excellent stuff.
Mr. Obrien, like most in the media, create this myth about how Apple is actually innovative. Yet most of the tech in its devices was invented by other companies, including Samsung, but also companies you’ve never heard of. The CPU in the iPhone was jointly developed with Samsung, the capacitative touchscreen was developed by Sharp and Toshiba, and the camera in the iPhone is a Sony Exmor. As far as software, music downloads were invented by NTT Docomo and apps were started by KDDI in years 2000-2002, but Japanese cell carriers have never been aggressive about expansion overseas (until now with Softbank). There’s an excellent article on Customerthink that outlines how Apple hasn’t really innovated, but taken from so many others–and how this doesn’t matter. They’re aggressive marketers, which is why they’ve met their match with Samsung.

Tommy

This guy seems impressed with his 8MP Samsung camera. He should pick up a Sony Xperia, which boasted a 12 MP camera a year ago.

Ray

It’s not always the camera. You can compare a 3mp with an 8mp, and if the 3mp has a better lens, than the 8mp cam is no better.

Lealon James

Android fans kill me , I should no know I use to be one , until I got my iPhone 5 . I do admit I loved the s 3 even though it was slow as hell. I got it before the iPhone 5 came out and the only reason why I did is because the previous Apple phones had a smaller screen . Other than that I knew iPhone was all around better , I just got the s3 beause the screen was bigger . If apple would not have changed the size of the screen I would still be a dumb android fan claiming that droid is superior. Truth Is its not first of all androids version of Siri lol SUCKS hands down I mean apples is not perfect but samsungs is horrible . 2nd thing texting I had to take the spell check off it was horrid stupid suggestions it was giving I mean how do you get the word animal out of airplane . Besides it was slowing my text down and could not keep up with my texting . The iPhone 5 WOW is amazing the quality is remarkable, texting is like drinking a glass of wine it is so smooth and relaxing . 3rd thing is SPEED whoa boy does it have speed , did android fans forget that the iPhone is made by Apple , a computer based company sorry a computer based guru. Apple has been a leader in thier field for how long now and Samsung thinks they can compete with that . No wonder why they work for Samsung and not Apple. Matter of fact Samsung employees probly tried to get a job at Apple first but couldn’t pass the entrance exam , oh we’ll Samsung will take them . I live In a area where lite is not even available yet and my phone was moving at record speed . Man I can’t wait till lite gets here , it’s gonna be like back to the future . Your gonna see me with that old guy in that silver car attached to a f###n lightning bult. 4th thing my iPhone 5 never freezes and I can say never on this one . Maybe that’s the reason why we do not need a detachable battery . As for android please imagine if the battery was sealed . How horrible would that be , not being able to unplug your battery for a continous reboots that the s3 had me doing lol. The 5th thing have you really seen the iPhone 5 . I mean stop being cheap android idiots and buy the dam thing instead of having the employee of that carrier sell you on the Samsung by telling you that iPhones are not insured if thier lost or stollen. Or sell you on Samsung by saying Apple will charge you a hundred dollar fee on your next bill if you purchase the iPhone. Stop being cheap buy it instead of looking at it while its attached to the metal wire with the alarm on it . It is a different experience when you hold it alone in your hand . It’s like hmmmm I don’t know it’s just hhmmm luxury yeah that’s the word luxurious there’s nothing like it . I know The S3 may have a few more unusable features but nothing beats the quality and accuracy of the iPhone 5

iphone owners like to lie

I like how apple fans try to claim to have “owned the S3” and state things like “it was too slow, too clunky, too this too that” when everyone who knows better knows their lying.

Does it make them feel better about themselves?

Tom

It’s hard to impossible to believe that T-Mobile has better coverage than AT&T. Especially so in a major metropolitan area. I don’t know what you were getting for speed (I like how you crossed off LTE), but with AT&T in Boston I’ve gotten over 40Mbps down and in general even with only a few bars I am getting around 20.

annonymos

Hey believe it or not T-mobile is more reliable, being an at&t user (iPhone 4) to using T-mobile’s 4G ( Galaxy s3) I see a major difference. But my brother has at&t (iphone 5) he claims to have a lot of dropped calls and sometimes a laggy network in some areas. As for me I really don’t have that many problems, especially on treasure island where at&t had nothing but Edge signal

Dimitrios

@Lealon James. I’m an android user but what you say makes the most sense out of all the iphone users who posted here. The reason is that i can tell you have owned both android and iOS devices from the things you say. Even though I am an android user I can relate to what you say because even while typing this on a supposedly fast android device, i am struggling to get it done. I have had every one of the problems you mentioned with android. Its obvious to me, while i struggle with typing this, that android is still playing catch up with apple iOS and will be for some time to come.

iphone owners like to lie

and another one……

Linux User

This reminds me of Windows vs mac or Windows vs Linux back in the day. Except the apple fanbois now sound like the dumb window$ users who were content with a company telling them what’s good for them. That there user base is too dumb to mess with their machine so we will dumb down the os. Funny how apple did to the phones what M$ did to the PC. I like being able to do what I want on my phone/pc not what a rich company says is good for me. It’s my phone/pc I will think and decide for myself not what acompany tells me. Kind of like big government too. I don’t like government telling me what’s good for me. Anyways that last part was a little OT. Sent from my Android Phone

Lealon James

Dennis you are so right :

iPhones hold their value , and androids don’t when I had my galaxy s3 which was awesome when i I first purchased it for 199 . At that time the s3 was being sold on Craigslist for for 500 $. I kept it till the iPhone 5 came out which was 2 weeks later I struggled to get 350 for my galaxy s3. While the iPhone 4 s was still going for about 350 to 500$ while the brand new Samsung only a few months old was struggling at 350. It’s the truth it does not take a genius to see that iPhone is a great investment that you can actually profit from . What other object can you buy brand new pay full price for it and then 2 years later sell it for 200% more than what you paid for it . It’s genius , and IPhone technicians along with the advertisers and marketing team are laughing at all their competition.
Why do think there is now a growing secondary market for unlocked iPhones , metro pcs , along with t mobile and others are buying old iPhones and selling it for more , making an absurd amount of profit. DUH pawn shops don’t even buy other phones except the iPhone , you can purchase an iPhone accessories from a dollar store . That’s how convenient owning a iPhone is shhhhhii#### if that were samsung you’ll be looking forever if there was no carrier retail shop close buy . Better pray Samsung users are not out traveling and there battery becomes defected . Good luck on finding a convenient grocery store that sells Samsung products lol. Because iPhone products will be right there where your Samsung accessories is suppose to be. Samsung I get it is great but iPhone is better all the way around

iphone owners like to lie

and yet another one….

Ray

You had trouble selling a Galaxy S3 for $350? What are you a moron? Best Buy is selling it for $699.99 right now. LOL !!

You can jacked you fool. That device goes for $500 right now in Los Angeles.

Just because you were forced to sell your device for $350 so you can get some crack money, doesn’t mean that is the actual price. It just means that you’re in idiot. If you were smart, you would remove your post and go crawl up in some dark corner in a fetal position and slap yourself for being a waste of sperm.

Lealon James

And Demetrius sell your galaxy s3 a lot of android users are looking for it and buy the iPhone 5. Stick with it learn how to use it and get around the android blocks like flash player and the old YouTube app. For flash player your going to download a app called skyfire for YouTube he just go directly through the Internet instead of the iPhone app . Stick with it and you will love it its hard for the first week . I almost turned mine back in . But by the second week of the smooth texting , the non freezing , the non pausing of YouTube videos and the Internet speed along with the flashy look and feel if the iPhone with yourself and the girls will get you. Make sure you buy the outer of case with the clip so everyone can see what you represent on your hip. Power , affordability , presence , luxury and stability. You are what you rock YOU ARE THE IPHONE. Lol

iphone owners like to lie

No, Demetrius quit being cheap and talking bad about Android because you opted for the free Android phone and didnt pay money for a higher end phone.

All the “supposed” former Android phone owners complain about owning a budget Android phone and knock it for its short commings when they were too cheap to invest in a high end one then turn around and blow 200 bucks for an iphone because “androids” cheap. ????

Luke

I have owned iPhones for almost 3yrs. My family has owned every generation except for the 5. I used to think iphone dominated any other phone, but in reality i never had an argument why except that it was an iphone (though i didnt realise that until now haha) I always found myself jailbreaking my phone to add new themes, toggles and features, and widgets. I was debating on holding out for an iphone 5 or to buy a samsung s3 I took the gamble at the end of august to buy the samsung, and have fallen in love with it and still loving it just as much as when i first got almost 2 months ago now. I just love the endless amount of features and flexibility it has with the android os on it. it can do everything a jailbroken iphone can if not more. plus the larger screen is amazing for everything, not too big in my hand that i have trouble using the phone with one hand, and it can fit in my pocket perfectly with plenty of room still and i can barely feel it in my pocket even with my otterbox commuter on it. Every now and then i grab my old iphone from my friend who i sold it too and find it tiny and very oldschool. one of my friends who went from an iphone to a samsung s3 said that it felt like going from his old school flip phone to an iphone in comparison to the way he felt about going from his iphone to his samsung s3

Leaking James

Ray , Ray , Ray Huh how can I start we’ll speaking of sperm your MOM should probably wipe her mouth now . You are an idiot because we are talking about depreciation you ignorant waste of oxygen . Where did you got to school at Compton , everyone knows what the retail value of samsung and iPhones are . Your the only one making a fuss about that , the other android users are not even responding to your ram along statements. You refer to people as being homeless because your probably reflecting your own miserable life . You probably don’t even have a phone , with your intelligence you wouldn’t have one . Your probably texting from your boost mobile or metro pcs phone Pretending online like your something your not . Your the only one who is slandering people talking about their current situation . Anyhow dropout we are talking about how the value on androids drop faster than iPhone . Your own android partners realize that , it’s logical sense Samsung comes out with phones too quick which lowers the value of the phone . iPhone takes a little longer which make the value of the phone depreciate slower you barbaric imbecile . Go back to school and learn something instead of sitting at your desk with your finger up your nose fantasizing about the girl next to you who would never give you a chance because your mom and dad gave you a hill billy name like Ray LMAO

Lealon James

Point blank Samsung users know that the s3 is slow , stop pretending are you guys going to make me post links on here . Because I will , you will see other s3 owners complaining how slow their device is . It’s slow the YouTube always freezing it shouldn’t even say watch videos hi def because if you did you would never get to watch it . Too f####n slow for me yeah the picture in picture is cool watching porn on that phone is good but as for performance man it flat out sucks . And me being an old android fan I know that we don’t want to Admit the truth about our s3s because we love it so much . Don’t get me wrong it’s a great phone but the performance kills it its good for show but that’s it . In the long run we want performance and something you can depend on every time . Not something you can floss for a couple of minutes hoping that s voice will work this time , or your gps does not freeze . How about when you let your friend play with your phone and it is slow and they keep having to correct their typing . Androids are good the best android I had was the htc Evo it was awesome. But he galaxy couldn’t even out perform that phone, it’s not android it’s the phone itself is slow

Ahmed Sayed

Hell, android might not be as fast as ios. Well, it was almost after jelly bean but h difference is that Google is constantly upgrading android to make it faster insteadof adding corrupt maps.

ms. special

im currently typig using this galaxy 3 and I miss my iphone dreadfully. First of all the phone came with a bunch of unnecessary ass applications. The top bar is always cluttered with notifications, where on my iphone there was only the essentials. And the worst part this phone keep my hands cramped up and falling asleep. Im truly scared ill get arthritis in my hands for using the galaxy.

I really dont care for all the extra additions to the phone, because I never used them anyways. Im all for simplicity and apple satifies my taste with its luxury. I dont need to play games for the sake of my wellbeing. Who in their right mind truly want to use a stylus or two hands to use their cellular phone. Perhaps men could use it with one hand comfortably, but misses cannot say the same. I bet ladies have difficulty using the device before it starts cramping.
Apple considers comfort as well as functionality. I discovered this with my first macbook pro..

You realize that there’s more than one size of Android, correct? When talking about Iphone vs Android, you really have to go for the major differences between ALL Androids and Iphones. Its not like you were forced to get a big Android, you could have got a smaller one and your hand wouldn’t be cramped. As for the simplicity, if you don’t like the plethora of options that Android gives you just because its in a weirder spot then Apple would have it, I guess you should just go back to an Iphone.

Well i would just like to say something here you guys are funny as hell about this phone war everyone is making here haha is too funny is like u guys have nothing better to do than talk about phone. This dude said u are a rock u are the iphone and if u wear it on ur side u represent stability class and girls dig u if u really have to rely on a phone for all of that bro idk what to tell u or idk were u live at that shit was just too funny. Well back to the phone war thing i have had both phones i have an iphone 4 now my sister does to and my mom has a the galaxy s3 and i can tell u both are great really good phones but ur internet been slow and all of that it depends on were u are at and what carrier u have i am with att they are pretty good my sister has sprit they fucking suck her iphone takes 50 years to load and it just sucks my mom has metro and i have to tell u is pretty good is better than what i expected it to be no lie. Now i am station in hawaii yes i am a freedom fighter proud sailor have some friends that has the i5 and some that got the galaxy s3 and i say it again speed depends on were u are at what ur carrier iphone 5 from tmobile, sprint fucking suck at life here in hawaii ok but att and verizon are great here. Galaxy s3 is the same att and verizon are great here the other two just suck ass here in hawaii so i think it depends on carrier and location ppl and please dont get upset at shit like this really talking about ppl mom and that u are a waste of seamen and oxygen bum really i am pretty sure all u guys are older than me maybe i am 22 get a life watch the news about wtf is going on in the country and stop ur worry about apple and samsumg cuz when shit hits the fens i can tell u from experience been in a combat zone on the deployments my iphone and my droid were not there to give me what i need it to keep my ass alive or my fellow service members lol so i like reading ur comments they are funny and u learn something from you guys cuz u know so much about all this phone shit but dont take this so serious apple wont be there neither would samsumg if our country goes to shit get mad at something real not a stupid phone is just a phone…

Thank u for ur comments tho that guy with the u are a rock u are the iphone was the best one lol….

ammie

My daughter and I got our Galaxy S3’s in November. I’ve spent a work week worth of hours on the phone with T-Mobile trying to work out the kinks. Just to name a few: we don’t receive images from AT&T, we only have Edge service, AT&T has great service in our area but we can’t connect to them, file share doesn’t work at all. We have NFC and S-Beam turned on and I called them so many times that they sent me another phone but the problems weren’t resolved. File share worked once when we first got the phones and once when they sent me a new one. It seems like there are so many amazing things that can be done with these phones but we can’t seem to do the simplest of them. Other than switching our carrier does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks

Realist

I had i phones from the first until the 4s. I have a galaxy s3 now and it’s faster than all of my friends iphone 5s. I will never go back to iphone. That being said, they’re two completely different things. Yes the iphone is marketing features android phones have had for a while now but that really isn’t the point. Marketing is what they do. I phones are more simplistic and androids are more complicated but allow further customization. The point here is they’re both actually great phones, for different people. As far as the speed thing goes there’s a plethora of variables that effect the speed of phones. It could be anything. Two kinds of phones for two kinds of people. No point in arguing and saying anybody is right or wrong because it’s all preference.

anonymous

there will always be uninformed sheep who fall into marketing niches. welcome to android.

Cash

To the iPhone users claiming that the iPhone 5 has faster speed: it has a 1.02 GHz dual core processor, and 1GB RAM. The Galaxy S3 has a 1.5 GHz dual core processor and 2 GB RAM. The Galaxy S3 is faster, and does not “freeze”.

A few things I like about the GS3:
1. The file system, and its ability to accept a microSD card
— You can see all the files in an organized file system, and you can store any kind of file on it. The microSD means you can increase storage size by 64GB, for a total of 80GB. Also, since it uses microUSB, you can buy a $5 connector and plug in any USB device – including flash drives, mice, keyboards, xbox controllers, etc…
2. You can do more
— Anything the iPhone can do (even jailbroken), the GS3 can do without root. Add root, and you can completely take charge of anything you want on the GS3, including things like processor speed and custom OS.
3. Typing
— Install any keyboard you want, including the iphone keyboard (why anyone would do that is beyond me). I personally use SwiftKey, and it’s the best mobile keyboard I’ve ever used (Swype is excellent as well).